FAIRLESS HILLS – In the sport of field hockey, it’s all about being opportunistic. And a little bit lucky.
Council Rock North was on the attack in the opening moments of the second half of Tuesday’s SOL opener against Pennsbury, drawing two quick corners. In play after the second, Falcon defender Danielle Geller came up with a huge stick save on the goal line of a shot by senior Elly Plappert, preventing a sure goal.
“The defense was really ready,” Geller said. “Me, Alyssa Cox, Julie Kang and Jess (Bulafka) were on our toes the whole time. We were talking, making sure there was a lot of communication.
“I didn’t really think about it. (The ball) just came, and I stopped it.”
Geller’s big save was followed by Rock’s third corner of the half, and it seemed as though it might be only a matter of time before the Indians cashed in and broke a scoreless tie.
But the Falcons had other ideas and - after withstanding the Indians’ early pressure – put on some pressure of their own, drawing back-to-back corners. Their second was golden.
Mia Reed deflected a shot by teammate Alyssa Cox into the cage, and the Falcons had the only goal they would need, holding on for a 1-0 win in a battle of the neighboring archrivals.
“This is huge,” Reed said. “We have been practicing all season to win our first league game. We have been practicing, practicing, practicing, and our coaches have been working us really hard just for this.
“They gave us a run for our money, and we were lucky to come out with a win. It was great, but it was a little too close to call.”
The Falcons won despite the fact that the Indians held a decided advantage in shots (9-3) and corners (9-5).
“It was such a good game,” Rock North coach Heather Whalin said. “We’re just not finishing. We have a young forward line with a freshman (Alex Kuzma) and sophomore (Hannah Plappert) starting.
“We’re just missing our opportunities up there. We had lots of opportunities, and once they scored, we got down on ourselves, which isn’t normal for us. We fought back, but I think we just ran out of gas.”
The Indians had a golden opportunity to knot the score when – at the 11:35 mark – they were awarded a penalty stroke, but Plappert’s strong shot missed by inches, ricocheting off the top of the cage.
“That hurt,” the Indians’ senior forward said, going on to put the Indians’ loss into perspective.
“It’s only the first game of the league season,” Plappert said. “We have the rest of the season. We have a lot of practices left to work on finishing and strokes.
“We just need to beat them the next time, and I think we can. We just need a little more heart.”
It didn’t take long to figure out one goal might win this game. The Falcons drew two early corners but didn’t manage a shot. The Indians answered with three of their own but also came up empty as Falcon goalie Caty Ritchie turned away three shots, and the two teams went into halftime deadlocked 0-0.
Then came the second half and Geller’s goal line save.
“She’s incredibly consistent, she’s incredibly steady,” Bergmann said of her lone returning starter on defense. “We have people that don’t get rattled. They controlled a good portion at the end of the first half, and we were able to continue to get the ball out and hold our ground.”
It was the relentless play of Jennalise Taylor that allowed the Falcons to get the ball on attack, and they capitalized when Reed scored in a dramatic sequence during corner play at the 18:50 mark of the half.
“Alyssa hit it to the goalie, and I reached my stick out and popped it onto the right side of her,” Reed said. “It would have hit her pads if I hadn’t touched it. It was a great hit by Alyssa. If she hadn’t hit it that hard, I wouldn’t have gotten it.”
The final 18 minutes were not without their anxious moments for the Falcons, not the least of which came when the Indians drew a penalty stroke, but the Falcons’ defense and Ritchie (seven saves) held firm.
“I never feel like a one-goal lead is enough,” Bergmann said. “We were playing pretty solid on defense, but it was getting a little chaotic. I know they have some dangerous offensive players, so I certainly did not feel comfortable with a one-goal lead, but we have a lot of smart players on defense.”
While the Falcons upped their overall mark to 1-2, the Indians fell to 1-3.
“You want to start with the best – see where you are and what you have to work on,” Whalin said. “They’re very well coached. They have some great players. They always play with heart.
“We lost to Pennsbury in our first game last year, and then we went on a run. We’re not going undefeated –we know that. We’re just going to plug at it. We focused on the positive things we did today.”
PENNSBURY 1, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
Council Rock North 0 0-0
Pennsbury 0 1-1
Goals/Assists: Pennsbury – Mia Reed 1-0, Alyssa Cox 0-1.
Shots: CRN 9, P 3.
Corners: CRN 9, P 5
Saves: Amanda Krause (CRN) 1, Caty Ritchie (P) 7
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